Samurai

A samurai fights with honor as a symbol of order and nobility, inspiring tales of valor and heroism with dignity and grace. As a samurai, you must uphold a strict code of conduct based on honorable combat and victory through skill of arms, bringing greater glory than would ever be possible by cheating your way into victory through deception or trickery.

Your code requires you to uphold the following edicts:

• A samurai faces a foe with honor. You fight honorably and gain no benefit from flanking an enemy, forfeiting the +2 bonus to attack. You never benefit from sneak attacks or other abilities based on flanking. (You still grant flanking bonuses to your allies, even if you do not benefit from flanking.)
• A samurai does not strike unawares. You may not attack a flat-footed enemy, always allowing your enemies to ready themselves for battle.
• A samurai honors a fallen foe. You may not inflict harm on a helpless enemy, including lethal damage, ability damage/drain, energy drain, and so forth. (You may still deal nonlethal damage to a helpless foe or otherwise incapacitate them, such as paralyzing them, casting hold person, or other non-damaging effects.)
• A samurai does not flee from danger. You may not willingly flee from battle in cowardice. If your allies break and run, you must fight to cover their retreat before even considering retreat yourself. (Disengaging to reposition, to attack a greater threat, or to defend an ally isn’t considered cowardly.)

Because each tenet of your samurai’s code is a choice you make rather than something imposed upon you, you may choose to ignore any of them when necessary. When combat begins, you are considered to be Honorable. If you break any of these tenets, you have acted dishonorably and are no longer considered Honorable for the remainder of that encounter. In addition, each time you violate one of these tenets, you lose one daily use of your Zeal ability, even if you are already dishonored. Some class features rely on being Honorable.

Whenever you roll initiative, you regain 1 point of zeal, up to your daily maximum.

At 1st level, you inherit an heirloom katana (masterwork bastard sword) from your family, clan, or sensei. You gain Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) as a bonus feat to reflect your training with this weapon.

You may expend 1 point of zeal to challenge a foe to combat, demanding that he prove his worth. You must be able to see your target, and your target must be able to see and hear you; however, you need not share a language. You must be Honorable to issue a challenge. This is a swift action.

You are unwilling to be turned away from a challenge you have issued. While you have an active challenge, you are immune to fear.

The target of your challenge perceives you as the biggest threat on the battlefield, becoming nearly unable to look away from you. The target suffers a circumstance penalty equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1) on attack rolls, damage rolls, and save DCs against any character other than you.

The challenge lasts until your target is dead or unconscious or the encounter ends, whichever comes first. You may only challenge the courage of one target at a time, but you may issue a new challenge as soon as the target is defeated. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Shouted Challenge

At 7th level, you can spend 2 points of zeal to shout a challenge all enemies within 20 feet who can see and hear you. Affected creatures must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your samurai level + your Charisma modifier) or suffer the penalty as described above.

This challenge lasts until all affected targets are dead, unconscious, or have fled the battle or the encounter ends, whichever comes first. You may not issue another challenge so long as at least one creature is still affected by this ability.

Roaring Challenge

At 13th level, you can roar your challenge across the battlefield. This functions as shouted challenge, except that the range increases to 50 feet, and any enemies who fail their save become shaken for the duration of the challenge. Creatures immune to fear only resist becoming shaken but are otherwise affected by the challenge normally.

Thundering Challenge

Your voice thunders across the battlefield at 19th level, echoing for all to hear. This functions as roaring challenge, except that the range increases to 100 feet, and enemies who fail their save become frightened.

Your will is as strong as adamantine, allowing you to ignore pain and injury, at least for a time. You gain a delayed damage pool equal to 3 × your samurai level. When attacked, you may redirect all or part of the damage to take to your delayed damage pool. Apply damage reduction and resistance before redirecting the damage. You may not redirect damage that would exceed the maximum capacity of the damage pool.

Any additional effects of an attack, such as poison, are still incurred immediately even if the entire damage of the attack is redirected to the delayed damage pool.

Your delayed damage pool empties at the end of your turn each round, inflicting any damage stored in the pool to you, bypassing any damage reduction or resistance you possess and resetting the pool to 0.

Any healing you receive can be applied to increase your current hit points, remove delayed damage, or both. You may divide healing between the two in any way you choose.

At 2nd level, the spirits of your ancestors bless your ancestral weapon, unlocking the first stage of your katana’s legendary abilities. Your katana gains a +1 enhancement bonus and becomes a legendary item, and you have an effective scion level equal to one-half your samurai level (rounded down).

You gain 1 effective scion level and unlock one new legendary ability of your katana at each even-numbered samurai level. At 10th level, you can unlock moderate legendary abilities, and at 18th level, you can unlock greater legendary abilities. Each new unlocked ability requires an additional 8 hours of prayer and meditation.

Through heightened combat awareness, vigilance, and endless practice, you have become a master of your space on the battlefield. Starting at 3rd level, you can spend a point of zeal to make an attack of opportunity against any enemy that enters a square you threaten. This ability does not allow you to make more attacks of opportunity in a round than you are normally allowed.

At 5th level, a samurai’s banner becomes a symbol of inspiration to his allies and companions. As long as the samurai’s banner is clearly visible, all allies within 60 feet receive a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear and a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made as part of a charge.

The banner must be at least Small or larger and must be carried or displayed by the samurai or his mount to function.

At 9th level, the bonuses granted by a samurai’s banner increase to a +4 on saving throws against fear and a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls made as part of a charge.

At 11th level, a samurai can make an honorable stand, deciding to fight the target of his challenge to the bitter end, no matter the cost. He can make an honorable stand once per day at 11th level, plus one additional time per day at 16th level. Declaring an honorable stand is a swift action.

While making an honorable stand, the samurai does not fall unconscious while his hit point total is below 0, and he can spend one point of zeal to reroll a saving throw after the first roll is made. He must take the result of the second roll, even if it is worse.

If a samurai making an honorable stand ever retreats from battle against his challenged foe, he becomes dishonored and cannot become honorable again for the rest of the day.

At 13th level, a samurai’s banner becomes a rallying call to his allies. All allies within 60 feet receive a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and compulsion spells and effects, this is in addition to the other bonuses the banner already grants.

In addition, while his banner is displayed, the samurai can spend a standard action to wave the banner through the air, granting all allies within 60 feet an additional saving throw against any one spell or effect that is targeting them. This save is made at the original DC. Spells and effects that do not allow saving throws are unaffected by this ability. An ally cannot benefit from this ability more than once per day.

Beginning at 9th level, your zealous resolve negates the most grievous wounds. After a critical hit is confirmed against you, you can spend one point of zeal as an immediate action to treat that critical hit as a normal hit. Effects that only trigger on a critical hit do not trigger when you use this ability.

When you reach 15th level, you can use this ability against any attack to instead negate the damage entirely.

Beginning at 17th level, a samurai becomes extremely proficient in leading his troops to war. Whenever the samurai makes a charge attack while his banner is displayed, he can spend a point of zeal to inspire his allies. When the samurai begins his charge attack, all allies within 60 feet may use an immediate action to join the charge. Any ally joining the charge moves in the same direction as the samurai, up to the ally’s normal maximum movement speed, provoking attacks of opportunity as normal, after which that ally may immediately make one normal melee weapon attack against an enemy in range. The ally cannot make more than one attack, regardless of any feats, abilities, or effects that would grant additional attacks.

Whenever an ally joins a charge, the ally’s initiative count is changed to the current initiative count + 1. If the ally has already acted in the current round, she can still use this ability, effectively gaining an extra action this round. If she has not yet acted during this round, this charge is considered her turn for the round, and she does not act again on her original initiative count.

At 20th level, you become the eye of the hurricane, the center of any battle you fight. The range of your banner increases to 100 feet, all morale bonuses it grants increase by an additional +2, and you can wave your banner as a move action rather than a standard action to give allies an additional saving throw. In addition, allies can benefit from your greater banner ability to gain an additional saving throw once per encounter rather than once per day.

While you have an active challenge, you can spend zeal to continue fighting even when your wounds should claim your life. You can spend 1 point of zeal as a free action to remove 10 damage from your delayed damage pool and may spend multiple points in this way on your turn.

In addition, you gain zeal points each day based on your total samurai level rather than only half.